Beware of Rental Scammers

Because of rising rents, a tight inventory of affordable housing and the competitive environment that is created, many renters may act hastily to secure what they believe is “a steal.” But, renters will do well to beware of scammers. If it seems like a steal, it probably is, and it’s your money and sometimes your identity that gets stolen.

When perusing online and print ads, watch for these red flags:

Monthly rent seems considerably lower than other comparable properties.The goal of scammers is to swindle as much money as fast as they can and lower rents attract more victims.

Landlord is out of town and only available via email or by phone.Distance does a crook wonders. If the landlord or representative does not meet face to face, don’t do business.

Watch for typos, misspellings or poor grammar in ads or other in communications.Many scammers operate from overseas. A poor command of the English language should be a red flag.

An application fee is being requested with your online application.Never give money to anyone you don’t know or have not personally met.

A deposit in form of a cashier’s check is requested to hold the property.Giving a deposit to hold a rental is common practice; however, never send money to someone you’ve never met or don’t know.

Beware of legitimate looking broker adsHow much safer can you get than by going through a broker? But who are you really dealing with? Before responding to a broker ad, look up the brokerage’s phone number yourself and call them.

Rental Shopping Do’s and Don’ts

Do meet locally and do meet face to face.

Do report suspicious or fraudulent listings to the owner of website you are visiting.